Publications

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook describes events and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Use Estimates report for beef, pork, poultry, and dairy production and trade.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for June 2015 analyzes animal product markets based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Use Estimates report for beef, pork, poultry, lamb, and dairy production and trade.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for May 2015 analyzes economic impacts of events and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Use Estimates report for beef, pork, lamb, poultry, eggs, and dairy production and trade.

The May 2015 Feed Grains Outlook report contains estimates for the 2014/15 crop and initial projections for the 2015/16 U.S. and global feed markets based on the most current World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates.

The Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook for April 2015 analyzes economic impacts of events and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Use Estimates report for beef, pork, lamb, poultry, eggs, and dairy production and trade.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for March 2015 analyzes animal product markets based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Use Estimates report for beef, pork, poultry, lamb, and dairy production and trade.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for February 2015, describes developments and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Use Estimates report for beef, pork, lamb, poultry, eggs, and dairy production and trade.

Fast-developing Vietnam is following in the footsteps of Japan and its model of export-oriented industrialization. Vietnamese agricultural imports are rising fast and appear to be following the historical growth pattern of Japan’s imports. Trade policy in both countries has protected agricultural ...

In 20 years after NAFTA’s implementation, U.S. agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico increased from $8.9 billion to $39.5 billion, while U.S. agricultural imports from these trading partners rose from $7.4 billion to $39.4 billion.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for January 2015 analyzes animal product markets based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report for beef, pork, poultry, lamb, and dairy production and trade.

Overall, ERS found that on Salmonella spp tests, suppliers of ground beef to the National School Lunch Program equaled or surpassed the food safety performance of suppliers of ground beef to general commercial markets.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for December 2014 describes events and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates Report for beef, pork, lamb, poultry, eggs, and dairy production and trade.

The EU is one of the world’s largest producers and consumers of beef, pork, and poultry, but EU tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) policies continue to limit imports of U.S. meats.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for November 2014 describes events and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Use Estimates Report for beef, pork, poultry, and dairy production and trade.

The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership is expected to increase the value of intraregional agricultural trade by about 6 percent in 2025, and increase U.S. agricultural exports to the region by 5 percent, compared with the baseline.

The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership would increase agricultural exports to Japan from TPP partners, especially in the rice, beef, and dairy sectors, but would have only a marginal impact on Japan's agricultural production.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for October 2014 describes events and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) Report for beef, pork, poultry, and dairy production and trade.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for August 2014 describes events and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply Demand Estimates (WASDE) report for beef, pork, poultry, and dairy production and trade.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for August 2014 describes events and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Use Estimates Report for beef, pork, poultry, and dairy production and trade.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for July 2014 describes events and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Use Estimates Report for beef, pork, poultry, and dairy production and trade.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for June 2014 describes events and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Use Estimates Report for beef, pork, poultry, and dairy production and trade.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for May 2014 describes events and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Use Estimates Report for beef, pork, poultry, and dairy production and trade.

Small acreage does not necessarily translate into low farm sales. About 17 percent (50,000) of farms with 10 or fewer acres had gross sales of at least $10,000 in 2007, and approximately 6,000 had sales of more than $250,000 that year.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for April 2014 describes events and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Use Estimates Report for beef, pork, poultry, and dairy production and trade.

USDA anticipates that China’s soybean and corn imports will continue to rise, with soybean imports meeting nearly all soybean meal demand and imports accounting for about 10 percent of corn supplies by 2023. Meat imports are also projected to rise, but remain a small share of consumption.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for March 2014 describes events and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Use Estimates Report for beef, pork, poultry, and dairy production and trade.

In the United States, 31 percent—or 133 billion pounds—of the 430 billion pounds of the available food supply at retail and consumer levels went uneaten in 2010.
Errata: On June 27, 2014, Tables 2, 3, and 5 were updated to correct some incorrect values. The errors did not affect ...

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for February 2014 describes events and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Use Estimates Report for beef, pork, poultry, and dairy production and trade.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for January 2014 describes events and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Use Estimates Report for beef, pork, poultry, and dairy production and trade.

ERS examines estimates of the cost of foodborne illness, focusing on factors that result in different estimates. Factors include the number of pathogens included in estimates and the method of assigning monetary value to the impacts.

Consumer demand for local local meat has risen in recent years. Farmers contend that limited processing capacity restricts supply, while processors often lack the consistent business required to make a profit.

Beef/Cattle: Following on the heels of last year’s drought, this year’s lack of adequate rainfall over more than half of the United States has resulted in rapidly deteriorating crop and pasture conditions that have driven corn prices higher and cattle prices lower.

U.S. feed grain supplies for 2012/13 are projected sharply lower this month with lower
production for corn on lower yields. Extremely hot weather and drought result in a 20-
bushel-per-acre decline in the projected corn yield to 146 bushels per acre reducing
projected production to 13.0 billion bush...

ERS evaluates slaughter and processing capacity for local meat production, and the options available to livestock producers selling to local markets. Local demand is still a small share of total demand.

Disproportionally large cow slaughter has kept average dressed weights
lower during most of 2011 than if steers had constituted half or more of beef slaughter, as they typically do. Packer margins and high feed and feeder cattle prices are exerting downward pressure on fed cattle prices.

The report describes the many uses for animal byproducts—both inedible and edible—and estimates the volume of production of beef and pork variety meats in the United States in addition to the proportion of value added to the live animal from the byproducts. The value added to U.S. meat trade and the...

Corn-based dry-mill ethanol production and its coproducts – notably distillers’ dried grains with soluble (DDGS) – have surged in recent years. The report estimates the potential substitution of DDGS for corn and soybean meal in livestock feeding and the impact of substitution upon the U.S. feed com...

ERS documents the extent of food safety audits in meat and poultry processing plants and examines the association between the use of audits and the plants’ size, business structure, and application of food safety technology

This report characterizes Mexican feeder-calf and fed cattle production systems in the context of the imports of Mexican feeder cattle into the United States. The increase in cattle feeding in Mexico will increasingly affect U.S. feeder cattle imports and U.S. beef exports to Mexico in ambiguous way...

The report describes the factors that have contributed to the large and rapid increase in agricultural prices during the past year. The report focuses particularly on food commodity prices—which have risen 60 percent since June 2010.

This report outlines the tendency for fed cattle from the Southern Plains to typically sell at a premium over cattle from the Northern Central Plains, describing the nuances in regional production and marketing practices that underlie the price relationship referred to as “the North-South spread.”

ERS examines possible impacts of recently implemented free trade agreements (FTAs) where the United States is not a partner, and potential effects of pending U.S. agreements with Korea, Colombia, and Panama.

This report is the last in USDA’s series of Congressionally mandated biennial reports on the impacts of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on U.S. agriculture and the rural economy. The report responds to a mandate in the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act of 1993.
...

The beef cow-calf industry is characterized by large numbers of small farms, although large farms account for most of the production. Operators of beef cow-calf farms have varying goals for their cattle enterprises.

The extent to which cost changes pass through a vertically organized production process depends on the value added by each producer in the chain as well as a number of other organizational and marketing factors at each stage of production. Using 36 years of monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics price i...

The Food Availability (per capita) Data System developed by USDA’s Economic Research Service tracks annual food and nutrient availability for many commodities. The Food Availability data series in this system overstates actual consumption, so ERS has included an additional series, the Loss-Adjusted ...

This report characterizes Mexican beef cow-calf production systems in the context of the many issues affecting Mexican beef and cattle markets, including geo-climatic factors, disease and pest challenges, patterns of landownership, changes in export regions, and changes in domestic consumption as th...

This report provides longrun (10-year) projections for the agricultural sector through 2019. Projections cover agricultural commodities, agricultural trade, and aggregate indicators of the sector, such as farm income and food prices.

The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 established specific targets for the production of biofuel in the United States. Until advanced technologies become commercially viable, meeting these targets will increase demand for traditional agricultural commodities used to produce ethanol...

The livestock industry uses information on meat prices at different stages in the marketing system to make production decisions. When grocery stores began using electronic scanners to capture prices paid for meat, it was assumed that the livestock industry could capitalize on having these point-of-s...

The global economic crisis that started in late 2008 has led to a sharp curtailment of international trade, including a short-term decline in the value of global agricultural trade of around 20 percent. After slowing, global agricultural trade will continue to grow in the future. The crisis is leadi...

Using import data from the U.S. Census Bureau, this study examines patterns of U.S. food imports for fiscal years 1998-2007. Results indicate faster import growth trends for consumer-ready foods, such as fruit, vegetables, meats, seafood, and processed food products. Although the United States impor...

Both Government regulations and private-sector-determined actions have resulted in the current level of safety in meat and poultry products. Focusing on process control, ERS examines the relative contributions of regulations and management-determined initiatives.

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture to evaluate the role of animal manure as a source of fertilizer, and its other uses. About 5 percent of all U.S. cropland is currently fertilized with livestock manure, and corn accounts for over half of the a...

Consumer demand for organic products has widened over the last decade. While new producers have emerged to help meet demand, market participants report that a supply squeeze is constraining growth for both individual firms and the organic sector overall. Partly in response to shortages in organic su...

The byproducts of making ethanol, sweeteners, syrups, and oils used to be considered less valuable than the primary products. But the increased livestock-feed market for such byproducts in the past few years has switched that perception to one of the ethanol industry making grain-based “co-products”...

Implementation of the agricultural provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has drawn to a close. In 2008, the last of NAFTA’s transitional restrictions governing U.S.-Mexico and Canada-Mexico agricultural trade were removed, concluding a 14-year project in which the member coun...

U.S. imports and exports of red meats—beef, pork, lamb, and mutton—have expanded rapidly over the last several decades, linking livestock sectors of the United States to those of several major trading partners. Factors driving this trade growth include not only rising incomes, but also the preferenc...

Animal and poultry disease outbreaks often lead to new or amended policies and regulations. The economic effects induced by these policies can be much greater and much longer lasting than the immediate effect of the disease outbreak alone. Using Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) as an example, ...

As more is learned about the impacts of foreign animal-disease outbreaks, questions arise regarding the efficacy of existing animal disease-impact models for capturing the array of effects across many economic sectors and time. Previous models lacked adequate treatment of either the economic compone...

ERS investigates trends in U.S. food consumption from 1970 to 2005. Results suggest many Americans still fall short of Federal dietary recommendations for whole grains, lower fat dairy products, and fruits and vegetables.

Argentina and Uruguay (A/U) are significant beef exporters and among the world’s greatest consumers of beef on a per capita basis. Between 13 and 20 percent of U.S. beef imports, on a tonnage basis, come from these two countries annually, and it is mostly grass-fed beef. Currently, only 10-20 percen...

ERS researchers compared household-level retail food purchases of three types of beef products before and after the 2003 U.S. government announcements of finding two North American cows infected with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) to see if consumers reduced their purchases of those products...

U.S. agricultural exports reached a record in fiscal 2006 at $68.7 billion, some $6.2 billion higher than the record set in fiscal 2005. California, Iowa, Texas, and Illinois continued their reign as top exporting States, while Minnesota dropped to seventh position behind Nebraska and Kansas. North ...

A large expansion in ethanol production is underway in the United States. Cellulosic sources of feedstocks for ethanol production hold some promise for the future, but the primary feedstock in the United States currently is corn. Market adjustments to this increased demand extend well beyond the cor...

Implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is drawing to a close. In 2008, the last of NAFTA’s transitional restrictions governing U.S.-Mexico and Canada-Mexico agricultural trade will be removed, concluding a 14-year project in which the member countries systematically disman...

This report provides longrun (10-year) projections for the agricultural sector through 2016. Projections cover agricultural commodities, agricultural trade, and aggregate indicators of the sector, such as farm income and food prices.

Uncertainty continues to shape the forecasts for animal products markets in 2006. Potential and actual animal disease outbreaks, consumer sensitivities, volatile exchange rates, and growing competition from producers in other countries cloud U.S. trade prospects for major meats. Loss of U.S. trade m...

The first confirmed cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Canada and the United States had significant effects on trade and prices of U.S. cattle and beef. However, these incidents occurred during a period of low U.S. beef supplies, near-record beef prices, and strong domestic demand fo...

Empirical analysis of mergers and acquisitions in eight important food industries suggests that workers in acquired plants realized modest increases in employment and wages relative to other workers. Results also show that mergers and acquisitions reduced the likelihood of plant closures while high ...

Beef is a highly consumed meat in the United States, averaging 67 pounds per person per year. Findings based on the 1994-96 and 1998 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII) indicate that most beef was eaten at home. Annual beef consumption per person was highest in the Midwest (73 p...

This study focuses on fed cattle markets to compare the mandatory price reporting system developed by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service in 2001 with the previous voluntary reporting system. The study also evaluates whether the mandatory system has improved the amount and quality of information a...

Disease outbreaks and related trade restrictions that affected U.S. animal product markets and exports in 2003 continued to constrain markets in 2004. U.S. cattle and beef markets were most affected. Pork, dairy, and lamb markets did not face any direct disease issues but both U.S. and international...

The beef, pork, and poultry industries of Mexico, Canada, and the United States have tended to become more economically integrated over the past two decades. Sanitary barriers, which are designed to protect people and animals from diseases, are some of the most significant barriers to fuller integra...

Livestock and meat prices vary more in the short run than costs of production, processing, and marketing. ERS research shows that month-to-month changes in livestock and meat prices are driven by dynamic adjustment. It takes time for prices to adjust, and they tend to adjust more rapidly when they a...

Poultry meat is the fastest growing component of global meat demand, and India, the world's second largest developing country, is experiencing rapid growth in its poultry sector. In India, poultry sector growth is being driven by rising incomes and a rapidly expanding middle class, together with the...

This report examines the economic rationale behind the various claims about the effects of mandatory country-of-origin labeling, thereby identifying the most likely outcomes. Profits motivate firms to innovate and introduce thousands of new food products each year to satisfy consumers' demand. Yet, ...

This report examines the conceptual relationships between food safety and international trade and analyzes empirical examples from the meat and poultry, produce, food and animal feed crop, and seafood sectors.

This article provides a current national picture of interstate movements of cattle, hogs, and sheep. A better understanding of livestock shipping patterns helps in characterizing the livestock sectors, estimating the economic effects of major disease outbreak, and assessing marketing issues.

This report examines changes in the livestock industry in 2000 and provides initial assessments of 2001 based on forecasts from the August 2001 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates. Strong economic growth in the United States in 2000 boosted the demand for high quality cuts of red meats, t...

In early 1996, the peak in the current cycle of cattle inventories coincided with a long list of negative factors--negative returns at the farm and feedlot, record-high feed grain prices, a severe drought in 1995-96, widening farm-retail price spreads, a low farmers' share of the consumers' Choice b...

USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) finances about 13.5 percent of its budget outlays through user fees for overtime and unscheduled meat and poultry inspections. This report surveys the application of user-fees for financing meat and poultry inspection programs in other countries; revi...

USDA is now requiring all Federally inspected meat and poultry processing and slaughter plants to implement a new system called Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) to reduce potentially harmful microbial pathogens in the food supply. This report finds that the benefits of the new reg...